The late Dick Brinckerhoff suggested the following criteria for ways to infuse societal topics into our science courses: items should be a) challenging, b) relevant, c) brief, and d) require a value judgment. Consider the following: Infusion Tips
1. With mounting concern about air pollution, some communities have established bans on drive-through windows or at least on new ones. According to a report on National Public Radio's Weekend Edition on 10 October 1998, some automobiles are idle at these windows as long as five minutes, during which air pollution is the sole result. Opponents of banning these windows cite the economic benefits from the convenience they bring. If banning drive-through windows were an issue in your community, how would you vote?
2. The 22 October 1998 issue of The New York Times carried an article about "smart guns," which fire only when the firer is wearing a special wristband containing a radio transmitter. The idea of the "smart gun" is to eliminate use by unauthorized people, such as thieves (unless they manage to steal the wristband as well). Some gun manufacturers are skeptical about the reliability of the technology, especially of the battery powering the radio transmitter. And ardent opponents of guns still oppose them. Would you support a law that forbids the sale of all guns except "smart" guns?
3. The 12 November 1998 issue of The New York Times describes the "prox" card used at Princeton University for student ID, checking out library books, charging meals, and admission to dormitories. This last feature allows students' movements to be tracked, and in one case of vandalism, municipal police subpoenaed the records for one door. Is this electronic tracking a violation of privacy that should be eliminated? Could it be used to establish a person's whereabouts in a court case? What are the consequences if a student uses another student's "prox" card?
4. According to the 11 January 1999 issue of Chemical & Engineering News, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to lower the threshold for required reports on releases of certain toxic chemicals. Currently this threshold is 10,000 lb. annually for users and 25,000 lb. annually for producers. Under the proposal, the threshold would be reduced to 10 lb. per year for a dozen compounds, including chlordane, heptachlor, and mercury compounds; to 100 lb. per year for five chemicals (aldrin, methoxychlor, pendimethalin, tetrabromobisphenol A, and trifluralin), and to 0.1 gram per year for dioxins. The EPA is cited as estimating that about 17,000 additional reports would have to be submitted every year, at a total annual cost to industry of $126 million for the first year and $70 million per year thereafter. The cost of submitting these reports would be borne by higher consumer prices and reduced profits, and the cost of processing them by the EPA would be borne by taxes paid by citizens. Do you agree with the Chemical Manufacturers Association that "the proposed thresholds do not take into account the significant efforts already taken by our industry to characterize and reduce emissions" or with the Public Interest Research Group that "EPA's proposal is a significant step in the right direction, but we still have a long way to go to ensure complete access to the information about these particularly dangerous chemicals in our communities."
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The TEACHERS CLEARINGHOUSE FOR SCIENCE AND SOCIETY EDUCATION